Forged golf club head with improved scorelines

ABSTRACT

A forged golf club head is disclosed. More specifically, the present invention discloses a forged golf club head with an improved scoreline profile that not only has improved precision, but also has an improved geometry to help enhance the performance of the golf club head.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a Continuation-In-Part (CIP) of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 17/332,103, filed on May 27, 2021, the disclosureof which is incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to iron type golf club headswith improved scoreline profile. More specifically, the presentinvention relates to forged iron type golf club heads with forgedscorelines that exhibit an improved precision and geometry to helpenhance the performance of the golf club head itself.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The process of forging raw metal into work pieces of specific shapes isone of the oldest known method of manufacturing. In fact, blacksmithshave been forging weapons using hammer and anvil as early as the 12^(th)century. Forging of metal is generally perceived to yield a strongerpiece than an equivalent cast part, as the metal is shaped during theforging process, while allowing its internal grain structure to followthe general shape of the part. Casting, on the other hand, is themanufacturing process in which liquid metal is usually poured into amold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, then allowedto solidify.

When it comes to manufacturing golf club heads, especially iron typegolf club heads, golf club engineers have utilized both methods tocreate golf club heads, both with extreme levels of success. However,the affinity of the specific golfing demographic's infatuation withforged golf club heads constantly drive the golf club engineers to findingenious ways to achieve better performance using forging as apreferred method of manufacture.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,825,991 to Cornell illustrates one of the earlierpatents relating to the improvement of forging in golf club heads, whichin this case, relates specifically relates to making a golf club headout of two pieces, of which only the blade portion is forged to createthe desired characteristic. The hosel portion can be formed separately,and can be machined to have a threaded engagement mechanism.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,931,098 to Johnson, back in 1960, illustrates one of theearlier attempts to manufacture a golf club head using a die castingoperation combined with a cold rolling of the striking face in adirection parallel to the sole of head, combining semblances of bothforging and casting in a golf club head.

Despite the advancements above relating to improvements in golf clubforgings, one of the drawbacks of forging a golf club head is itsinability to generate precise scorelines, which is a key feature ingenerating spin in an iron type golf club head.

In order to address this issue, golf club technology generally machinescorelines into a golf club head after the formation of the golf clubhead, regardless of whether it was created via a forging or a castingprocess. U.S. Pat. No. 8,845,455 to Ban et al. illustrates this bydisclosing a golf club head wherein the head includes a recessed portionfor the cutting start of each scoreline, which is formed at one end oreach of both ends of the scoreline in the longitudinal direction.

These secondary machining operations, although capable of providing moreprecision to the scoreline geometry, unnecessarily add to themanufacturing cost of the golf club head. Moreover, these secondarymachining operations are also incapable of creating improved groovegeometries that could even be asymmetrical to further improve theperformance of a golf club head.

Hence, it can be seen from above, despite all the development increating iron type golf club heads, golf club designers are forced topick between precision or manufacturability, with the former coming at asignificant price increase on top of the latter. The present inventionaddresses that issue by creating a golf club head with improved forgedscorelines that not only precise, but also capable of creatinggeometries that are previous not achievable via traditional secondarymachining techniques.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention is a method of forging a golfclub head comprising the steps of providing a raw forging blank, hotpre-forging the raw forging blank to create a golf club head withoutscorelines, cold pre-forging the golf club head to create a roughscoreline pattern, polishing a face of the golf club head to remove anexcess material after the cold pre-forging step, and final forging thegolf club head to create a final scoreline pattern, wherein at least onescoreline of the final scoreline pattern further comprises of a toeterminus profile, a heel terminus profile, and a face centerline,defined as a center point between the toe most portion of the at leastone scoreline and a heel most point of the at least one scoreline. Thetoe terminus profile of the at least one scoreline profile is differentfrom the heel terminus of the at least one scoreline.

In yet another aspect of the present invention the forged golf club headhas a Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio of greater than about 6, the Heelto Toe Terminus Slope Ratio defined as;

${{Heel}{to}{Toe}{Terminus}{Slope}{Ratio}} = {\frac{{Heel}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}{{Toe}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}.}$

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with references to the followingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features and advantages of the invention will beapparent from the following description of the invention as illustratedin the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings, which areincorporated herein and form a part of the specification, further serveto explain the principles of the invention and to enable a personskilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a toe side view of a golf clubhead in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings shows a face on view of a golf clubhead in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 a of the accompanying drawings shows face on view of onescoreline in accordance with a prior art golf club head;

FIG. 3 b of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view ofone scoreline in accordance with a prior art golf club head taken alongcross-sectional line A-A′ shown in FIG. 2 ;

FIG. 3 c of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a prior art scoreline highlighting circularregion I in FIG. 3 b;

FIG. 3 d of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a prior art scoreline highlighting circularregion II in FIG. 3 b;

FIG. 4 a of the accompanying drawings shows a face on view of onescoreline in a golf club head in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 4 b of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view ofone scoreline in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 c of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region III inFIG. 4 b;

FIG. 4 d of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region IV inFIG. 4 b;

FIG. 5 of the accompanying drawings shows a flow chart of a method usedto create the current inventive golf club head in accordance with thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 a of the accompanying drawings shows a face on view of onescoreline in a golf club head in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 6 b of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view ofone scoreline in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 c of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region V inFIG. 6 b;

FIG. 6 d of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region VI inFIG. 6 b;

FIG. 7 a of the accompanying drawings shows a face on view of onescoreline in a golf club head in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 7 b of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view ofone scoreline in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 c of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region VII inFIG. 7 b;

FIG. 7 d of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region VIII inFIG. 7 b;

FIG. 8 a of the accompanying drawings shows a face on view of onescoreline in a golf club head in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 8 b of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view ofone scoreline in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 c of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region IX inFIG. 8 b ; and

FIG. 8 d of the accompanying drawings shows a partial enlargedcross-sectional view of a scoreline in accordance with an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention highlighting circular region X inFIG. 8 b.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. The description is not to be takenin a limiting sense but is made merely for the purpose of illustratingthe general principles of the invention, since the scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Various inventive features are described below that can each be usedindependently of one another or in combination with other features.However, any single inventive feature may not address any or all of theproblems discussed above or may only address one of the problemsdiscussed above. Further, one or more of the problems discussed abovemay not be fully addressed by any of the features described below.

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings shows a toe side view of a golf clubhead 100 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. The golf club head 100 shown here is mainly comprised out ofa hosel portion 102 and a body portion 104. The loft angle α of the golfclub head 100 is also shown in FIG. 1 , as the angle created by thefrontal planar portion of the striking face 106 as well as the hoselbore axis 108. Finally, FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings also shows aCenter of Gravity CG location, illustrating an ancillary feature of thepresent invention. More information regarding the precise CG location ofthe golf club head may be found in U.S. Patent Publication 2019/02262674to Tassisstro et al., filed on May 8, 2019, the disclosure of which isincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings shows a frontal face on view of agolf club head 200 in accordance with the present invention. Face onview, as it is commonly known in the industry, refers to a view of thegolf club head 200 that is perpendicular to the loft angle α (shownpreviously in FIG. 1 ), by tilting the entire golf club head 200forward. In this face on view of the golf club head 200, the strikingface 106 is shown more clearly with a plurality of scorelines 212 thatrun along a heel to toe direction on the face. In this face on view, thevisual geometry of the scorelines can be shown more clearly when thescorelines are enlarged, and cross-sectional geometry of the scorelinescan be shown more clearly when a cross-sectional view of the golf clubhead 200 is taken along cross-sectional lines A-A′. Finally, FIG. 2 ofthe accompanying drawings shows a face centerline 211 of the scorelines212, which will be helpful in defining scoreline symmetry in subsequentfigures. The face centerline 211, as defined in the current invention,refers to the center point between the toe most portion of the scorelineand the heel most portion of the scoreline.

FIGS. 3 a through 3 d shows a face on view, a cross-sectional view, andtwo enlarged cross-sectional views of a scoreline 312 in the strikingface 306 in accordance with a prior art golf club head 300. This priorart golf club head 300 illustrates one of the most consistentmethodologies in creating a precise scoreline via horizontal machining.Using horizontal machining allows for a more precise scoreline profileand geometry and is usually accompanied by a unique groove profile andgeometry that is indicative of such a machining technique. Moreinformation about this horizontal machining process known as “spinmilling” in the industry can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,273,422 toVokey et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference inits entirety.

FIG. 3 a shows a face on view of a prior art scoreline 312 that spansthe striking face 306 (shown in FIG. 3 b ) of the club head (shown inFIG. 3 b ) from heel to toe. At one end of the scoreline 312, the toeterminus profile 314 exists at a toe end of the scoreline 312; while atthe other end of the scoreline 312 exists the heel terminus profile 316.Both the toe terminus profile 314 and the heel terminus profile 316 haveidentical geometries because the same cutter is used to cut thisscoreline 312 as it rotates perpendicular to the striking face 306(shown in FIG. 3 b ). Alternatively speaking, it can be said that thescoreline 312 is symmetrical about the face centerline 311, with the toeterminus profile 314 and the heel terminus profile 316 being mirrorimages of one another.

FIG. 3 b of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view of aprior art golf club head 300 along cross-sectional line A-A′ shown inFIG. 1 . The cross-sectional view of the golf club head 300 shown herein FIG. 3 b allows for the internal profile and geometry of thescoreline 312 on the striking face 306 to be shown more clearly.Unfortunately, due to the inherent length of the scoreline 312horizontally compared to the geometry of the toe and heel terminusprofiles 314 and 316. Thus, in order to provide better visualization ofthe terminus end profiles, the toe terminus end 314 cross-sectionalprofile, highlighted by circular region I, is enlarged in FIG. 3 c ;while the heel terminus end's 316 cross-sectional profile is highlightedby circular region II and shown enlarged in FIG. 3 d.

FIG. 3 c shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of a toe terminusprofile 314 of a scoreline 312 in accordance with a prior art golf clubhead 300 (shown in FIG. 3 b ). In this enlarged cross-sectional viewshown in FIG. 3 c , we can see that the toe terminus profile 314 of thescoreline 312 contains a small radius of curvature 324 that generallymatches the cutter used to machine the scoreline 312 itself. The gradualradius of curvature 324 of approximately 0.3 inches allows horizontalcutter to engage the striking face to create the precise scorelinepreviously mentioned.

FIG. 3 d shows an enlarged cross-sectional view of a heel terminusprofile 316 of a scoreline 312 in accordance with a prior art golf clubhead 300 (shown in FIG. 3 b ). It should be noted that this heelterminus profile 316 is a mirror image of the toe terminus profile 314shown previously in FIG. 3 c , which makes sense because the same cutteris used to form the entirety of the scoreline 312. As previouslymentioned, it can be said that the scoreline profile is symmetricalabout the face centerline 311 (shown in FIG. 3 b ), thus the radius ofcurvature 326 of the heel terminus profile 316 is also approximately 0.3inches.

FIGS. 4 a through 4 d shows a face on view, a cross-sectional view, andtwo enlarged cross-sectional views of a scoreline 412 in the strikingface 406 in accordance with a golf club head 400 in accordance with anexemplary embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted herethat the scoreline 412 in accordance with this embodiment, because it isno longer machined using a cutter, can take on asymmetric profiles alongthe face centerline 411. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 4 a the toeterminus profile 414 in this embodiment can have a completely differentprofile compared to the heel terminus profile 416 not only in terms of adifference in the radius of curvature, but also could have a completelydifferent geometry, both without departing form the scope and content ofthe present invention. To achieve asymmetric profile along the facecenterline 411, the current inventive scoreline 412 is formed using animproved multi-step forging process, the details of which will bediscussed later when discussing FIG. 5 .

FIG. 4 a of the accompanying drawings shows a face on view of ascoreline in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. A closer look at the toe terminus profile 414 and the heelterminus profile 416 will show that the two profiles are completelydifferent. Although a comparison of the enlarged cross-sectional view ofthis scoreline 412 will show in more detail how the toe terminus profile414 has a more gradual radius compared to a sharp taper on the heelterminus profile 416, the present face on view already illustrates thedifference between the two ends of the scorelines 412. Having adifferent and asymmetrical toe terminus profile 414 and heel terminusprofile 416 is critical to the present invention not only because it isunachievable using the traditional prior art machining techniques, butalso because

FIG. 4 b of the accompanying drawings shows a cross-sectional view of agolf club head 400 in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of thepresent taken along cross-sectional line A-A′ as shown in FIG. 2 .Similar to the discussion previously this overall cross-sectional viewis not detailed enough to show the terminal ends of the scoreline 412 onthe striking face 406. Circular regions III and IV are highlighted toshow the regions of the toe terminus profile 414 and heel terminusprofile 416 in more detail.

FIG. 4 c of the accompanying drawings shows an enlarged cross-sectionalview of a toe terminus profile 414 as identified by circular region IIIshown in FIG. 4 b . In this enlarged cross-sectional view shown in FIG.4 c , we can see that the toe terminus profile 414 of the scoreline 412contains a radius of curvature 424 that can be any radius of curvature,and does not need to match the radius of curvature of any cutter, as thescoreline 412 is forged. In this exemplary embodiment of the invention,the radius of curvature 424 is greater than 0.3 inches but could easilybe less than 0.3 inches without departing from the scope and content ofthe present invention. However, it is the comparison of the differencein the toe terminus profile 414 and the heel terminus profile 416, shownlater in FIG. 4 d , that is the key to this embodiment.

FIG. 4 d of the accompanying drawings shows an enlarged cross-sectionalview of a heel terminus profile 416 as identified by circular region IVshown in FIG. 4 b . In this enlarged cross-sectional view shown in FIG.4 d , we can see that the heel terminus profile 416 of the scoreline 412is completely different than the toe terminus profile 414 in that itcontains a chamfered profile 426 that is not radiused at all. Thechamfer profile 426, in this embodiment of the present invention, maygenerally have an angle β of between about 1 degree to about 89 degrees,more preferably between about 10 degrees to 80 degrees, and mostpreferably between about 15 degrees to 45 degrees, all without departingfrom the scope and content of the present invention. Once again, thecurrent inventive forging process allows the present invention to notonly create a completely different toe and heel terminus profile 416,but allow the terminus profile 414 to deviate from a radius profile thatwas previously tied to the cutter radius into a chamfered profile.

Another key feature to highlight here regarding the difference in toeterminus profile 414 and the heel terminus profile 416 is the moregradual transition at the toe terminus profile 414, compared to the heelterminus profile 416. This design is intentional because as the golfclub is swung in a golf swing, the rotational that the golf club head400 forces debris caught in the scoreline towards the toe terminusprofile 416. Creating a more gradual transition at the toe terminusprofile 416 allows greater ease of the debris to be channeled out of thescoreline through that opening, further improving the performance of thegolf club head 400.

To quantify this gradual toe terminus profile 414 that could be arcuate,chamfered, or even alternate shapes, the present invention defines thegradualness merely with a slope of change. This slope of change ofeither the toe terminus profile 414 or the heel terminus profile 416 isdefined in accordance with the standard definition of a slope ofanything, which is the rise over run of either profile. In FIG. 4 c ,the rise is defined as distance d1, which in the current exemplaryembodiment is less than about 0.8 mm, more preferably less than about0.6 mm, and most preferably less than about 0.4 mm. The run, on theother hand, as shown in FIG. 4 c , as shown as distance d2, which in thecurrent exemplary embodiment is greater than about 2.5 mm, morepreferably greater than about 3 mm, and most preferably greater thanabout 3.2 mm. Thus, it can be said that the gradual toe terminus profile414 of the scoreline 412 in accordance with the present invention maygenerally have a slope of less than about 0.25, more preferably lessthan about 0.20, and most preferably less than about 0.15.

However, the toe terminus profile 414 here only paints half the story,because the heel terminus profile 416 in accordance with the presentinvention will have a much steeper transition compared to the toeterminus profile 414. This steeper transition in the heel terminusprofile 416 will further force debris to channel out of the toe terminusprofile 414 instead of the heel terminus profile 416, which is thepreferred side to channel debris. The steep heel terminus profile 416 ofthe scoreline 412 in accordance with the present invention may generallyhave a slope of greater than about 1.5, more preferably greater thanabout 1.75, and most preferably greater than about 2.0.

The differing slope between the toe terminus profile 414 and the heelterminus profile 416 can also be quantified as a relationship to oneanother defined here as Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio, as illustratedby Equation (1) below:

$\begin{matrix}{{{Heel}{to}{Toe}{Terminus}{Slope}{Ratio}} = \frac{{Heel}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}{{Toe}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}} & {{Eq}.(1)}\end{matrix}$

The Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio in accordance with the presentinvention may generally be greater than about 6, more preferably greaterthan about 8.75, and most preferably greater than about 13.

FIG. 5 of the accompanying drawings shows a flow chart of how thecurrent invention utilizes a multi-step forging process to achieve thescoreline profiles in accordance with the present invention withenhanced precision. This inventive process, although may appear simpleon its surface, recognizes the inability of the current forgingtechniques to create precise scorelines without “shouldering”.“Shouldering”, as it is known in the industry, refers to excess materialthat flows into undesirable portions of the golf club head around thescorelines that often results in a forging process. In order to addressthis “shouldering” issue, which prevents the forging process fromachieving precise scorelines, the present invention has separated theforging process into three separate forging steps.

In step 532, the golf club head begins as a raw forging blank, which inmost situations, is circular type billet. Different methodologies forforging a golf club head can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 8,926,451 toDeshmukh et al., the disclosure of which is which is incorporated byreference in its entirety. In the next step 534, the raw forging blankis heated and hot pre-forged to create a golf club head withoutscorelines. This step 534 is the first pre-forging step in a series ofmultiple forging steps to create the golf club head with precisescorelines as outlined previously. During this hot pre-forging step 534,the entire billet workpiece is heated and pre-forged to create the shapeof a golf club head. Scorelines, however, are not formed in this stepbecause of the amount of precision required for scorelines are notconducive to hot forging.

Once the pre-forging is completed in step 534, a step of flatteningcould be used here to create a flat face surface to prepare for the nextstep 536 that creates the scorelines. Flattening of the face could beachieved via machining, stamping, pressing, or any other methods capableof achieving a flat surface without departing from the scope and contentof the present invention. The machining step can be accomplished via flycutting, end milling, or any other types of machining operation allwithout departing from the scope and content of the present invention.Although in the present embodiment the flattening step is contemplatedto occur between step 534 and step 536 before the cold forging occurs,it can also occur between steps 536 and 538 before the polishing occurs,or even between steps 538 and step 540 before the final forging step,all without departing from the scope and content of the presentinvention. In fact, the flattening step can occur once, twice, threetimes, or any number of times along the entire process, if there are anyrework required, also all without departing from the scope and contentof the present invention.

In order to begin forming scorelines, the current method, in step 536,cold pre-forges the golf club head to create rough scorelines. The wordcold is used here to describe this step 536 because the golf club headis not heated during this process, which results in less flow of thematerial, minimizing the amount of desirable excess material around thescorelines themselves known as “shouldering” that was previouslydescribed. However, noticed that some “shouldering” still exists in thegolf club after this step, and it could be a great detriment to theprecision of the scorelines themselves. In order to address this issue,the present invention creates two additional steps in the formingprocess that were previously ignored.

In step 538, after the golf club head has been cold pre-forged to createrough scorelines in step 536, the excess material known as “shouldering”is removed via a polishing step that is specifically aimed at removingthis excess material. This step is critical to the present inventionbecause it specifically addresses a need in the process that waspreviously lacking. Once the polishing of the face has been completed,the golf club head goes through a final forging step in step 540.

In step 540, which is the final step in this process, the golf club headis forged again, this time also in a cold forging context, to create thefinal scoreline shape, profile, and geometry. Due to the fact that theexcess material is removed in the polishing step in step 538, this finalstep 540 is capable of achieving the precise scoreline profile withoutthe need of a secondary machining technique.

Once step 540 has been completed, the golf club with final scorelineshave technically been formed. However, in precision machining processessuch as these, inspection of the final geometry is critical to theperformance of the golf club head. Hence, in step 542, the golf clubhead with final scorelines is inspected to ensure that it meets thespecifications. If the golf club head fails the inspection and does notmeet the design specifications, then the golf club is returned to step538 to be repeated in the process. However, if the golf club head doespass inspection, then the manufacturing process truly ends at step 544.

FIGS. 6 a through 6 d show a face on view, a cross-sectional view, andtwo enlarged cross-sectional views of a scoreline 612 in the strikingface 606 of a golf club head 600 in accordance with another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. In the face on view of thescoreline 612 shown in FIG. 6 a , the toe terminus profile 614 is onceagain different from the heel terminus profile 616, meaning that it isasymmetrical about the face centerline 611. A closer look at thecross-sectional profile of the golf club head 600 in accordance withthis exemplary embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 6 b ,which is taken along cross-sectional line A-A′ shown in FIG. 2 , we cansee that circular regions V and VI focusing on the toe terminus profile614 and heel terminus profiles 616 respectively.

FIGS. 6 c and 6 d show the enlarged cross-sectional views of the toeterminus profile 614 and the heel terminus profile 616, as highlightedby circular region V and VI respectively, shown in FIG. 6 b . Onceagain, the key feature to notice here is that the toe terminus profile614 is different from the heel terminus profile 616. In this embodiment,the toe chamfer 624 shape is different from the heel chamfer 626 shapein terms of its chamfer angle, despite both ends of the scoreline 612are chamfered in shape. More specifically, both the toe terminus profile614 and the heel terminus profile 716 have different slopes form oneanother in the ranges previously outlined for their perspectivelocations, thus yielding a same Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio aspreviously outlined above.

FIGS. 7 a through 7 d shows a face on view, a cross-sectional view, andtwo enlarged cross-sectional views of a scoreline 712 of a golf clubhead 700 in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention. In the face on view of the scoreline 712 shown in FIG. 7 a ,we can once again see that the toe terminus profile 714 is differentfrom the heel terminus profile 716, meaning that it is asymmetricalabout the face centerline 711. It should be noted here that the presentembodiment illustrates a circular toe terminus profile 714 from thisface on view, which differs from the radius and/or chamfered profileshown in previous embodiments. In order to examine the slope of thetransition out of the scorelines 712, a cross-sectional view of the golfclub head 700 is taken along cross-sectional line A-A′ shown in FIG. 2 .Finally, circular regions VII and VIII are also highlighted here toenlarge the cross-sectional profiles of the scoreline 712 at the toeterminus profile 714 and the heel terminus profile 716.

FIGS. 7 c and 7 d show the enlarged cross-sectional views of the toeterminus profile 714 and the heel terminus profile 716 highlighted bycircular regions VII and VIII respectively, shown in FIG. 7 b . Similarto previous embodiments, we can see that the toe terminus profile 714 isdifferent from the heel terminus profile 716 in this cross-sectionalview in addition to the face on view previously shown. The toe terminusprofile 714 is of a circular region, having a radius of curvature 724 ofabout 0.03 inches, while the heel terminus profile 716 has a chamferangle of between about 1 degree to about 89 degrees, more preferablybetween about 10 degrees to 80 degrees, and most preferably betweenabout 15 degrees to 45 degrees, all without departing from the scope andcontent of the present invention.

FIG. 8 a through 8 d show a face on view, a cross-sectional view, andtwo enlarged cross-sectional views of a scoreline 812 in the strikingface 806 of the golf club head 800 in accordance with another exemplaryembodiment of the present invention. In this face on view of thescoreline 812, we can see that the scoreline 812 is technicallysymmetric about the face centerline 811 but is asymmetric about adifferent axis that spans along the length of the scoreline 812 itself.This alternate asymmetric shape may further enhance the ability of thescoreline to channel away debris from the scoreline by allowing theexcess debris to converge on a specific location at a terminal end ofthe scoreline.

The full scale cross-sectional view of the scoreline 812 shown in FIG. 8b as well as the enlarged cross-sectional views of the toe terminusprofile 814 and heel terminus profile 816 shown in FIGS. 8 c and 8 drespectively, are provided to show how the scorelines 812 look, but donot illustrate any of the asymmetry due to the axis of asymmetry notbeing along face centerline 811.

It should be noted here that although the prior discussion discussvarious features of the improved scoreline that can be forged to createasymmetry in various ways, the present invention is not limited to theillustrated embodiments. In fact, any combination of the types ofasymmetry in terms of terminus profile shapes, terminus profile angles,terminus profile slopes, or even asymmetry along an alternate axis maybe created using the concept of the present invention, all withoutdeparting from the scope and content of the present invention. In fact,the present invention could even be applicable to scorelines that arecompletely symmetrical and still fall within the purviews of the presentinvention if it is formed using the methodologies described in FIG. 5above, also without departing from the scope and content of the presentinvention.

Other than in the operating example, or unless otherwise expresslyspecified, all of the numerical ranges, amounts, values and percentagessuch as those for amounts of materials, moment of inertias, center ofgravity locations, loft, draft angles, various performance ratios, andothers in the aforementioned portions of the specification may be readas if prefaced by the word “about” even though the term “about” may notexpressly appear in the value, amount, or range. Accordingly, unlessindicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in thepreceding specification and attached claims are approximations that mayvary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by thepresent invention. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limit theapplication of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of the claims,each numerical parameter should at least be construed in light of thenumber of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary roundingtechniques.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forththe broad scope of the invention are approximations, the numericalvalues set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely aspossible. Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certainerrors necessarily resulting form the standard deviation found in theirrespective testing measurements. Furthermore, when numerical ranges ofvarying scope are set forth herein, it is contemplated that anycombination of these values inclusive of the recited values may be used.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the present invention and that modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionas set forth in the following claims.

1. A method of forging a golf club head comprising: providing a rawforging blank, hot pre-forging said raw forging blank to create a golfclub head without scorelines, cold pre-forging said golf club head tocreate a rough scoreline pattern, polishing a face of said golf clubhead to remove an excess material after said cold pre-forging step, andfinal forging said golf club head to create a final scoreline pattern,wherein an at least one scoreline of said final scoreline patternfurther comprises; a toe terminus profile, a heel terminus profile, anda face centerline, defined as a center point between the toe mostportion of said at least one scoreline and a heel most point of said atleast one scoreline, and wherein said toe terminus profile is differentfrom said heel terminus profile.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising a step of flattening said face of said golf club head beforesaid step of final forging said golf club head.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein said step of flattening said face occurs after said step ofhot pre-forging.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein said step offlattening said face occurs after said step of cold pre-forging.
 5. Themethod of claim 2, wherein said step of flattening said face occursafter said step of polishing said face.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein said scoreline has Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio of greaterthan about 6, said Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio defined as;${{Heel}{to}{Toe}{Terminus}{Slope}{Ratio}} = {\frac{{Heel}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}{{Toe}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}.}$7. The method of claim 1, wherein a slope of said toe terminus profileis less than a slope of said heel terminus profile.
 8. A method offorging a golf club head comprising: providing a raw forging blank, hotpre-forging said raw forging blank to create a golf club head withoutscorelines, cold pre-forging said golf club head to create a roughscoreline pattern, polishing a face of said golf club head to remove anexcess material after said cold pre-forging step, and final forging saidgolf club head to create a final scoreline pattern, wherein an at leastone scoreline of said final scoreline pattern further comprises; a toeterminus profile, a heel terminus profile, and a face centerline,defined as a center point between the toe most portion of said at leastone scoreline and a heel most point of said at least one scoreline, andwherein said toe terminus profile is different from said heel terminusprofile, and wherein at least one of said toe terminus profile or saidheel terminus profile is chamfered, and wherein the other one of saidtoe terminus profile or said heel terminus profile is radiused.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, said at least one scoreline is asymmetrical aboutsaid face centerline.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein said at leastone scoreline has Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio of greater than about6, said Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio defined as;${{Heel}{to}{Toe}{Terminus}{Slope}{Ratio}} = {\frac{{Heel}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}{{Toe}{Terminus}{Profile}{Slope}}.}$11. The method of claim 10, wherein said Heel to Toe Terminus SlopeRatio is greater than about 8.75.
 12. The method of claim 11, whereinsaid Heel to Toe Terminus Slope Ratio is greater than about
 13. 13. Themethod of claim 8, wherein said toe terminus profile has a slope of lessthan about 0.25.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein said toe terminusprofile has a slope of less than about 0.20.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein said toe terminus profile has a slope of less than about 0.15.16. The method of claim 13, wherein said heel terminus profile has aslope of greater than about 1.50.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinsaid heel terminus profile has a slope of greater than about 1.75. 18.The method of claim 17, wherein said heel terminus profile has a slopeof greater than about 2.0